Del Pino

Cantina Del Pino

Cantina del Pino fits a painter’s idea of northern Italy — an old farm in the hills of Barbaresco, surrounded by vineyards and watched over by the hundred year old pine tree which gave its name to the property. The Vacca family had been growing world-class grapes for four generations, but selling most of the grapes in bulk. In fact Adriano, Renato’s father was one of the founders of the regional co-operative (the Produttori del Barbaresco, considered the best of Italy).

In 1997 Renato Vacca decided to quit the co-op to take advantage of all the energy that Adriano had long devoted to the vineyards. The ‘new’ domain makes great wine – a happy marriage of tradition and technology, recognized by the reviewers of the Gambero Rosso, the Wine Advocate, the Wine Spectator, and Vinous among others.read moreless

Vineyards

Located in the Piedmont Region, just 30 miles from Torino, where some of Italy’s most famous wines are produced. Barbaresco is situated in a unique area above the Tanaro river where wine grapes grow along side truffles, hazelnuts and chestnuts.

Most of the property is located in the Ovello region of Barbaresco, which yields wines with supple upfront fruit, nice tannins and a gentle elegant bouquet. Before the Vaccas acquired the property in 1919, it belonged to Domizio Cavazza, the father of the Barbaresco appellation. Ovello was the first wine to be called Barbaresco, and continues to be regarded as a privileged cru.

Naturally Nebbiolo takes a big share of the 7 hectares of vineyards, almost half, but the other traditional grapes are not forgotten — Dolcetto, Barbera, Freisa and even Favorita have significant production. Although Renato’s Barbarescos are the stars, the Barbera’s fruity and peppery aromas and the Dolcetto’s rich character are not to be missed.

The Ovello vineyard sits at an altitude of 300 meters and has a south and southeast exposure. The soils in Ovello are limestone with sandy veins with a high calcium content. Ovello has some of the oldest vines in our holdings at an average age of 40 years with some as old as 70 with some vines as young as 35.

Vinification: The winery is a modern facility. All the fermentation is done in stainless steel temperature controlled containers for optimum management.

Ageing: With the Barbarescos they use a 15 – 20 day maceration and the wine is aged for 1 year in small barrels, then generally 1 year in large cask and one to two years in the bottle. A longer bottle age is given to the reserve wines. The younger wines like Dolcetto and Freisa get a short maceration time and age between10 months and 1 year in stainless steel. The Barbera ages in French oak (30% new) for one year. The Nebbiolo is aged for 10 months in a large cask after maceration.